Governor dedicates med school building

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 at 7:00 PMJan 30, 2013 at 9:03 PM

Craig C. Mello was the first person at University of Massachusetts Medical School to win the Nobel Prize, but he will not be the last. This was the optimistic theme repeated by speakers at a lavish grand opening Wednesday of the $400 million new research building called the Albert Sherman Center.

By Priyanka Dayal McCluskey/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Craig C. Mello was the first person at University of Massachusetts Medical School to win the Nobel Prize, but he will not be the last.

This was the optimistic theme repeated by speakers at a lavish grand opening Wednesday of the $400 million new research building called the Albert Sherman Center.

Dr. Michael F. Collins, chancellor of the medical school, said the building will allow researchers to change the history of the course of diseases.

The Sherman Center was built with the help of $90 million in state funds from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Elected officials, including Gov. Deval L. Patrick, called the building an important investment in the future of the life sciences industry in Massachusetts.

“It is about jobs and investment, but for so many people and families, it's about hopes and cures and therapies,” Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said.

The Sherman Center doubles the medical school's research capacity and will bring under one roof researchers who currently work in different locations. The building was designed to encourage collaboration.

Researchers have started moving into their new labs, a process that will continue through April.

UMass has recruited top-flight scientists over the last five years to work in the new building. Through stem cells, gene therapy, RNA interference and other types of research, they're working on treatments for a variety of ailments including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

The facility, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said, “represents the best of what we in government can do.”

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern joked that he was so excited with what he saw in the more-than 500,000 square-foot building that he wanted to donate his body to medical research.

The building is named for Albert “Albie” Sherman, who formerly served as UMass vice chancellor of university relations and is well-known in political circles.

Mr. Sherman received standing ovations from the crowd, which included hundreds of elected officials, faculty, donors and his personal friends.

Robert L. Caret, president of the UMass system, said the ceremony marked a great moment for the university and for the state.

“I think we will look back, as the years pass, and see that we've taken a giant leap forward today,” he said.

Research at the medical school is funded largely through federal grants. The school received more than $250 million in research funding in fiscal year 2012, including $153 million from the National Institutes of Health.

But NIH and other federal agencies are at risk of budget cuts as Congress works to reduce the national deficit. Dr. Collins has traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby against the cuts.

Mr. McGovern said in an interview Wednesday that any cut to federal research funding would be “disastrous” and “stupid,” and that he would like to increase, not decrease, funding.

“The way you reduce our deficit is, some of it is cuts, some of it is revenues, some of it is investment,” he said. “You cannot not invest in the future of this country.”

There was almost no mention of the students who attend UMass Medical School at the event, but the Sherman Center also will be used by them. The building includes high-tech classrooms and cozy meeting spaces for the doctors-in-training.

The Sherman Center represents the biggest investment made by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The state agency is investing $1 billion over 10 years to support the life sciences industry in Massachusetts.